But none of this was important right now, because . . . Because . . .
"We have to find Jason," I said.
We were driving through the streets of Shiloh. Impulsively, I turned onto Spring Street. Drove the car past Michaela Weem's house. I stared at it. And suddenly, it came to me. Last week.
Jude was driving Jason and me home. We were talking about the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. And Jason had said . . .
"I always thought," said Jason, "that would be a good way to pull off a kidnapping."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, kidnap someone in their own house," said Jason. "Tie them up and knock them out, and keep them in their own attic."
I yanked the wheel to the right and turned into Michaela Weem's driveway. Of course, of course, of course. This was the place close enough to cut off Michaela's finger and leave it downstairs, still warm and wet with her blood. This was the place that Jason could leave notes. It was a safe place. Not a hotel. Not an abandoned house. And it was the last place anyone would think to look for him, because it was too obvious. Jesus.
"What are you doing?" asked Lilith.
"I know where Jason is," I said.
"You do?"
Quickly, I explained to her what I thought, as I parked the car and turned off the ignition.
"He's been keeping her here in her own house?" Lilith was incredulous.
"Brilliant, isn't it?" I said.
She shook her head. "Yeah," she admitted.
Lilith sighed. Then—she moved. She pulled me close against her body, her forearm going around my neck, making it tough for me to breathe.
"Lilith!" I protested.
Then I felt it. The cold, sharp point of a small knife at my neck. "Lilith?" I said.
"You really are way too trusting, Zaza," said Lilith, her voice ugly.
Chapter Fourteen
Text message to Hallam Wakefield, 11:12 P.M.:
We've got a trace on the car, thanks to Hoyt. We should know where they are in a matter of minutes. Coordinates to follow.
"But-but—" I sputtered. "They tied you up. And you kept trying to make Jason suspect Jude."
"Well, I did want to bang Jason. I'm not gonna lie about that. I figured any path in a storm, right?"
"You're mixing your metaphors," I said.
"AP English rears its ugly head," she mocked me. "As for the tying up part, I was supposed to keep an eye on you that way. Monitor what you were feeling. They thought you'd trust me."
"I didn't trust you," I said.
"Which is why you untied me."
"Fuck you," I growled.
"Tisk, tisk. It's not a good idea to be rude to the girl who has a knife to your throat."
Ugh. She was right. I was stupid. I was way too trusting.
"Noah and Gordon had no vision," Lilith said. "They thought they could convince you to kill Jason. I know better. You're never going to think it's the right thing to do."
"It's not the right thing to do," I said.
"Like I said, you're never going to think that," said Lilith. "When Jason is dead, Michaela is going to see just how special I am. I'll make her eat those words. Someone will love me."
"I don't get it," I said. "You want Jason dead too? You just said you wanted to bang him."
Lilith chuckled. "Boys aren't good for much other than sex, Zaza. They're all expendable, really."
"But you think Jason is evil incarnate, like they do?"
Lilith didn't answer for a few seconds. "Stop talking," she said. "I'm calling the shots here. I've got a knife at your throat. I could kill you at any second. You shut up, okay?"
I didn't say anything, but I could tell I'd gotten to her.
"Look," she said, "I figure it doesn't really matter how it goes down, as long as you kill Jason. So, we'll go inside. We'll find Jason. He'll do whatever I say as long as I've got a knife to your throat, right? Even take a gun, put it in your hand, hold it to his own head, and make you pull the damned trigger. He'll do that. Won't he?"
She was right. He would. He'd die for me. I didn't like Lilith's plan at all. For someone who didn't do very smart things very often, she'd put together a pretty good plan. I had to keep pushing. She could threaten to shut me up all she wanted, but if she killed me now, then I couldn't kill Jason. And if things were really about to go down the way she'd just explained, I far preferred to die for Jason than for him to die for me. Not when there was some way I could stop it.
"You sure you want Jason dead?" I asked. "I was listening when you flashed Jason, you know. It got quiet for a long time." This was killing me, but it was more important that Jason lived than anything. Than anything. "And when I walked into the room, I could swear he looked guilty. How do you know that he doesn't want to be with you anyway? Maybe that's how you could show Michaela she was wrong."